Clermont cement top spot with victory over Stade

10:01 PM GMT

Clermont Auvergne cemented their spot at the top of the Top 14 with a six-try 46-10 victory over Stade Francais at Stade Marcel Michelin.

Stade Francais took an early lead through Sekou Macalou but Clermont then took control of the match with a try double from Adrien Plante giving them a 18-5 half-time advantage.

Patricio Fernandez then stretched their advantage with a try early on in the second half and though Will Genia grabbed one back for the visitors, Clermont then pulled away with scores from Noa Nakaitaci, Damien Chouly and Sitaleki Timani.

Montpellier edged out Toulon 33-29 in a thriller at Stade Altrad. Montpellier had built a commanding lead heading into the final throes of the match thanks to a try from Joffrey Michel and a double from Shalva Mamukashvili but Toulon struck late through Liam Gill and Marcel van der Merwe to get a losing bonus point.

Elsewhere Pau stunned hosts Bordeaux-Begles with a 18-16 triumph while Gabriel Lacroix scored an incredible quartet of tries to help La Rochelle to a comfortable 42-17 win at Bayonne.

Racing 92 also recorded a key win as tries from Xavier Chauveau, Wenceslas Lauret and Yannick Nyanga gave them a 23-10 triumph over Castres while Brive beat Lyon 22-6 with Gaetan Germain guiding them home from the tee.

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Clermont cement top spot with victory over Stade